1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image forming apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus includes a main system and a panel system which controls an operation panel. The main system and the panel system perform different processes, respectively, and are connected to each other by communication interfaces and so forth.
In systems independent of each other like those of the aforementioned image forming apparatus, in general, the systems start respective kernels of operating systems, and mount respective file systems. FIG. 8 shows a flowchart which explains a starting process of an image forming apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 8, for Processors #1 and #2 of two systems, respective kernels and root file systems have been stored in a flash memory. The root file system for Processor #1 includes data and/or a program to be used by Processor #1, and the root file system for Processor #2 includes data and/or a program to be used by Processor #2.
In the starting process of the image forming apparatus, for Processors #1 and #2, respective kernels are loaded and started (Steps S101 and S111). The kernels of Processors #1 and #2 mount root file systems, respectively (Steps S102 and S112).
In the case that plural systems are used as mentioned above, for the systems, it is required that respective kernels and respective root file systems has been stored in a flash memory, and therefore, a large memory area is required to the flash memory.